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that start, whoever you are — cheerful, resolute, stern, optimistic, empathetic,
expert, passionate, analytical, earnest, or any combination of those qualities —
will come across more powerfully.
Stillness is important not just for its effect on you, but for the impression
it leaves on others. Five seconds of standing still will come across as thoughtful
attention. It’s no coincidence that people use the phrase “standing for something”
to mean having conviction. After that beginning, your movement will seem
more natural and effortless, because it is.

7

FIND THE STORY IN EVERYTHING
Although children are aware of their love of stories — both
telling them and hearing them — many adults, particularly in
business, forget that having a compelling narrative is a powerful
tool. Stories create relationships between listeners and leaders
through empathy with characters and connection with personal
experience. They provide structure that makes your points seem inevitable. They
show people what you mean to say, bringing the abstract and general down to
earth and making it concrete, specific, and relevant.
Too often, business leaders ignore the stories they have to tell. Instead, they
collect data and summarize it in list form, assuming that will substantiate their
message. But no one has ever been persuaded by data alone; people are persuaded
by the way they feel about the data. Without an explicit story that makes sense of
it, the data is much less meaningful.

Although children are aware of their love

of stories, many adults forget that having

a compelling narrative is a powerful tool.